GIVEAWAY & Product Review: Moo Poo Tarts!

Moo Poo have given us a box of 6 tarts for one of our lucky readers.

To win, all  you need to do is comment below in 25 words or less: “what is the strangest food name you have ever come across?”

Please also click the following link for your chance to enter multiple times- a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms and Conditions:

1. This competition is only open to New South Wales residents aged 16 years or over.
2. To enter, simply comment below, in 25 words or less, “what is the strangest food name you have ever come across?”
3. Please include your name and email address so we can contact you if you win.
4. The competition opens on 6/11/13 at 12.00am AEST and ends 13/11/13 at 12:00am.
5. Winners will be notified by email by 16/11/13. If we are unable to contact you or do not hear back from you within 5 days from the date of the email we will choose another winner.
6. The prize consists of 1 box of 6 Moo Poo Tarts.
7. Prize must be picked up from Bamboo Lounge, 336 Sussex Street Sydney NSW.
8. Winner must contact http://www.facebook.com.moopootart 48 hours before they intend to pick up the tarts to order.
9. Voucher is valid to 31 January 2014.
10. Voucher is not redeemable for cash.
11. This competition is hosted by The Casual Food Blogger at http://www.thecasualfoodblogger.wordpress.com.

Good luck!

Product Review: Moo Poo Tarts

Product: Moo Poo Tarts –  also known as Cow Dung Tarts, UFO Tarts, Cream Tarts, Cow Pat Tarts

Available at: Bamboo Lounge Cafe, 336 Sussex St Sydney

Contact: https://www.facebook.com/moopootart

Price: $2.50 each, $15.00 for a box of 6, $35 for a box of 16
For larger quantities visit http://www.facebook.com/moopootart to order.

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What is a “Moo Poo Tart?”

A Moo Poo Tart is basically a thin piece of browned cake topped with creamy yellow custard and fluffy meringue.

What is the story behind the Moo Poo Tart?

The Moo Poo Tart was created in 1955 when, in the small town of Sandakan in Malaysia a baker accidentally burnt a tray of his tarts.  As the tarts looked like cow poo, he named it “cow poo” (ngau si dui in Malasian).

They became very popular in Malaysia and are now very well known, but the original recipe no longer exists as the creator, Mr Fu Ah On never revealed the secret recipe and passed away suddenly from a heart attack, taking it with him.

The best Moo Poo Tarts are found in the town of Sandakan in Malaysia but Ms Davina Wong has tried to recreate the recipe in order to introduce Sydney-siders to the wonders of this Malaysian treat!

My review of the Moo Poo Tart

I was super excited when I was invited to taste these delicious tarts, with a box of 6 delivered to me at work, complimentary.

The tarts look really cute in the box, and travelled quite well in the container.

They are the perfect size for an afternoon bite and I think they would make an unusual but interesting gift or ice-breaker!

I was interested by the strange and unusual appearance of the tarts, with a muffin-top-like base, a very dark yellow centre, and white meringue around it.  My first taste of the tart revealed a combination of flavours and textures. The dense, sweet and thin cake contrasted well with the silky, rich custard and the light, fluffy meringue.

While the meringue part was a little flat compared to the pictures, it still tasted delicious and I enjoyed the unusual textures and flavours of the tart.  It was a strange mix between a cupcake, a lemon meringue tart and a custard tart, and I, along with the friends I shared it with at work, all enjoyed it.

I would give this new treat a go as it seems like something that will appeal to all sweet lovers!

Rating

I give the Moo Poo tart a 7.5/10.

Magnum Pleasure Store, Westfield Sydney CBD

Address: Westfield Sydney, Cnr Pitt and Market Streets, Sydney NSW

Opening Hours:

Monday – Wednesday 9.30am – 6.30pm
Thursday 9.30am – 9.00pm
Friday 9.30am – 6.30pm
Saturday 9.30am – 6.30pm
Sunday 10.00am – 6.00pm

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What is it?

The Magnum Pop Up Pleasure Store was open from 16 July to 25 August 2013 at Westfield Sydney.

It’s a little ice cream bar in which you can choose different toppings to customise your Magnum ice cream.

MDS and I visited one lunch break to try it out.

Here’s how it works:

1. First, we paid at the counter and chose our toppings. The magnum (including toppings) cost $7.00 each.

2. Second, we walked past the topping bar where a friendly girl put scoops of our toppings into little metal cups, ready to go on top of our ice creams.

The toppings included (from the website):

THE CLASSICS: Hazelnuts, pistachios, almonds, macadamias, crumbled biscuit, chocolate flakes, chocolate sprinkles, honeycomb pieces

THE SPECIALS: dried strawberries, dried raspberries, toasted coconut flakes, goji berries, crumbled meringue, rose praline, crushed chocolate-coated coffee beans

THE EXPERIMENTALS: rose petals, rock sea salt, popping candy and more!

3. Next, another girl unwrapped a vanilla ice cream from the fridge and dunked it in our choice of chocolate: dark, milk or white.  I chose milk (only the best).

4. Next, the toppings were poured over our ice creams.

I chose pistachio, rose petals and crushed meringue.

5. Our ice creams were then drizzled with another chocolate of our choice. My choice was white chocolate.

6. Finally, we chose a chocolate “M” button to go on top. I picked a white one.

The experience was quite a bit of fun and we both enjoyed picking our toppings and customising the ice creams.

Although a bit pricey for one Magnum, there were plenty of toppings on it and the ice cream itself, with a THICK chocolate shell, tasted amazing. Absolutely delicious. It ended up being our lunch as we were so full after eating it!

Gelato Messina, The Star Sydney CBD ($)

Address; Shop 1/241 Victoria St  Darlinghurst NSW

Tel: (02) 8354 1223

Website: http://www.gelatomessina.com/

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After dinner at Criniti’s with my colleagues, we headed over to Gelato Messina in Pyrmont for dessert.

We were all really full from lunch but wanted to check out the flavours and see what was on offer.

 

The quantities and amazing flavours on show made all of us drool and it wasn’t long before the three girls were umming and ahhing over them, eventually choosing two scoops each.  The one boy in the group went for a limoncello sorbet in a cone.

I chose dulce de leche which was delicious and caramelly, creamy and slightly bitter, and The Guido which was a rich chocolate flavour with amaretto.

Both were fabulous but after eating about 1.5 scoops, I couldn’t have any more! They were very rich and a bit too much for one person to have after a huge lunch.

That said, they were really nice and although I normally go for fruity ice creams and sorbets, I did not regret the rich chocolatey flavours that I chose this time around!

Gelato Messina, Darlinghurst ($)

Address: 241 Victoria St  Darlinghurst NSW

Tel: (02) 8354 1223

Website: http://www.gelatomessina.com/

Opening Hours: 

Sunday to Thursday: 12pm to 11pm
Friday and Saturday: 12pm to 11.30pm

* * *

Now that I work in the area I am happily able to try out some of the amazing restaurants that Sydney’s east has to offer.

I had heard a lot about this gelato “heaven” from so many of my friends, and from fellow bloggers as well. It was after lunch one hot day that we decided to indulge in a scoop of Messina gelato.

We initially walked into the “creative department” side of the store which contains some Wonka-styled weird and wonderful single-serve desserts!

They were so cute and very well made and we were “oohing” and “aaahing” over them for quite a while before headed next door to the gelato side.

The cute decor and lovely peachy colours adds to the European feel.

There is a glass window at the rear of the store through which you can see the gelato being made.

Messina’s gelato is made from scratch using as many raw ingredients as possible.The piles of cold and delicious gelato flavours look so bright and enticing that I’m sure no one could resist them on a hot day.

My friends opted for Dr Evil and Passionfruit flavours while I went for a scoop of Salted Coconut & Mango gelato in a cup.I tasted the Peach Bellini and really enjoyed it, but it was too hard to pass up such an unusual flavour as the Salted Coconut & Mango.

There was plenty of pureed mango in my ice cream and a delicious coconut flavour as well. The salt gave it a bit of a bi-carbonate of soda flavour (sounds odd, I know, but it was in a good but unusual way). I really enjoyed this unusual flavour and will definitely be back for more!

GIVEAWAY & Product Review: Madame Flavour Teas

Product: Madame Flavour Teas

Contact: madame@madameflavour.com 

For more information: http://www.madameflavour.com/

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About Madame Flavour

Madame Flavour is a company based in Melbourne which sells loose leaf teas from Sri Lanka, China and India, which are blended with Australian spices and flowers to create unique flavoured teas.

They have a number of blends including the Special Blend, Sultry Chai, Green Jasmine Pear, Grey de Luxe, White with Rose, and Mint & Lavender Tisane.

The tea leaves are put into infuser pods, which are fully biodegradable silken tea bags which are much nicer than the papery tea bags used by other tea brands.

Much of their teas are organic, although the percentage of organic tea in each blend varies. What I particularly liked about their packaging however, is that they clearly state the percentages of each type of tea used in the blend and where the tea comes from. An ingredients list which shows you exactly what goes into your tea and where it comes from is an ingredients list which is not ashamed of its contents!

They kindly sent me a few samples of their tea to try out. Here’s what I thought of them.

Grey de Luxe

The Grey de Luxe tea has an amber colour and is quite fragrant. This is a nice afternoon tea as the strong and unique smell of the tea is revitalising and wakes you up.

I tried this tea with no sugar or milk as I find that is the best way to have Early Grey.

I brewed it in a T2 glass teapot for one, which is really easy to use and perfect for tea leaves, using the tea leaf compartment (which I took out), or tea bags.The tea leaves swelled up and filled the sachet and there was more than enough tea in the bag for one cup.

Although it was nice, I didn’t notice much of a difference in this tea compared with other Earl Grey teas which I have had before.

Sultry Chai

Chai tea is one of my favourite types as it is soothing and really clears up your throat if you are sick or have a cough.

I tried this tea black, and with a teaspoon of honey and some milk. It had a very strong aroma of clove and cardamom and a prominent gingery flavour.

Madame’s Special Blend

Madame’s Special Blend is the perfect breakfast tea. It has a soothing aroma and a dark golden colour which reflects its strong flavour.

I tried the tea both with and without milk/sugar. Both times it was easy to drink, smooth and silky.

A very enjoyable tea which I would recommend to all the “classic” tea drinkers out there. Note: If you don’t like flavoured teas, this means you!

Mint & Lavender Tisane

This is probably the most fragrant of the teas I tried.

The lavender and mint smell is beautiful and refreshing and I have heard that mint (peppermint) tea is good for settling the stomach after a big meal.

I had this tea black and without milk and found it to be very enjoyable and calming.

The Verdict

I really liked Madame Flavour’s range of teas. They smell amazing and are strong on flavour. Definitely worth a try!

Rating

I give it an 8.5/10.

GIVEAWAY!

Madame Flavour and The Casual Food Blogger are giving you the chance to sample some of these lovely teas. To win a sample package of Madame Flavour Teas simply comment below, in 25 words or less, what your favourite tea flavour is and why.

Terms and Conditions:

1. This competition is only open to New South Wales residents aged 16 years or over.

2. One entry per person allowed.

3. To enter, simply comment on this post an answer to the question “Which Madame Flavour Tea would you most like to try and why?”.

4. You must be a facebook fan of The Casual Food Blogger at http://www.facebook.com/thecasualfoodblogger.

5. The competition opens on 3/1/13 at 12.00 midday AEST and ends 31/1/13 at 12.00 midday AEST.

6. The prize consists of 3 packs of 8 single-serve Madame Flavour tea pouches.

7. The winners will be selected based on the most interesting comments as judged by The Casual Food Blogger.

8. Please include your name and email address so we can contact you if you win.

9. If you win you will be asked to provide a postal address to which the prize can be sent. Your name and postal address will be provided to Madame Flavour who will send the prize straight to you. Your name and address will only be used for the purposes of this competition. If you do not want your details to be sent to Madame Flavour, please do not enter.

10. Winners will be notified by email within 7 days from the closing date of the competition. If we are unable to contact you or do not hear back from you within 7 days from the date of the email we will choose another winner.

11. This competition is hosted by The Casual Food Blogger at http://www.thecasualfoodblogger.wordpress.com.

Good luck!

Pancakes on the Rocks, The Rocks Sydney ($$)

Address: 4 Hickson Road, The Rocks

Tel: (02) 9247 6371

Website: http://www.pancakesontherocks.com.au/

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On Friday night I organised for some of my school and exchange friends to go out. We began with happy hour (5-7pm) drinks at the Establishment and were originally going to have dinner there as well. However, as it was overcrowded and we couldn’t find a table we decided to head to Pancakes on the Rocks.

This proved to be a good choice as the 8 of us were quickly seated.

We ordered the following:

• Chicken & Bacon Pizza, $17.95

MDS and I shared this pizza along with the Strawberry Patch pancakes. I really enjoyed it as there was plenty of chicken and bacon and the base was the perfect thickness. It was a decent sized pizza and everyone knows pizza is the perfect food for sharing!

• 3 x Devil’s Delight Pancakes, $13.95

Three people ordered the Devil’s Delight (chocolate overload) pancakes. While it looks delicious and sounds like a chocolate lover’s heaven, they commented that it was a little dry.

I have had this item before and also tried some of MC’s Devil’s Delight. I agree that they were dry and I also noticed that they were much drier than the Strawberry Patch pancakes that MDS and I ordered, possibly due to the addition of chocolate powder or cocoa to the batter?

• Tabriz Savoury Crepe, $14.95

One friend ordered the savoury crepe which was a ground beef and mushrooms in a red wine and tomato -based sauce. I am not usually a fan of savoury crepes and didn’t try this so I can’t comment, but here is a picture of what it looked like:

• Brandied Apricots Pancakes, $10.95

After the Tabriz crepes he was still hungry and ordered this pancake dish. It looked very very sweet but apricots are an interesting topping for pancakes and I’m sure the ice cream and apricot combination was great!

• Fisherman’s Catch, $21.95

Always a winner the Fisherman’s Catch was crispy and golden!

• Aussie Sunrise Breakfast, $12.95

The Swiss and Czech girls who shared this dish said they really enjoyed it and the caramelised banana was supposed to be delicious. A very reasonably priced dish for so much food!

• Strawberry Patch Pancakes, $12.95

MDS and I also shared these pancakes. They were moist and tasty and we ate it all! Definitely recommend this!

Cost:

Cheap meals with good portion sizes, a variety of food options, a nice atmosphere and a convenient location.

Rating:

Overall I would rate my dining experience (out of 10):

• Service- 5
• Food- 7
• Ambience- 7
• Value – 8

I finally got the chance to visit Laduree, Sydney!!!

Yesterday I finally got the chance to get some macarons from Laduree in Westfields Sydney.

On previous visits to Westfields after work (see Laduree in Sydney! and Laduree), the line was far too long for any sane person to wait in and so I had decided to put my french macaron experience off until another more convenient and less busy time.

This time I was able to avoid the queues and walk straight up to the counter as I visited the store at about 1.30pm in the afternoon.

 

The French staff make the experience a little more exciting with their snooty expressions and lovely accents.

The actual store itself is beautiful and very stylish and I love the green and gold emblem and the beautiful Parisienne chic decor.

The macarons were packaged in little green paper bags and put into a more sturdy green carry bag. I think a box would have been a better option as I found that a few of the macarons were squished when I got home. There are boxes available, but only if you buy a certain number of macarons.

I had high expectations of these macarons as some of my friends had described them as “the best macarons in the world”.

 

They were a lovely shape and there were some great flavours including salted caramel, chocolate, pistachio, raspberry, coffee, orange blossom, cherry blossom, chai/vanilla (I can’t remember), licorice and a strawberry-ish one. I ordered one of each flavour (except licorice as I am not a big fan of black licorice), and an extra orange blossom and two cherry blossom macarons. Each macaron costs $3.20 so this came to a total of $38.00 which is quite a lot for sweets!

When I tasted them I found them to be soft and moist on the inside. They were so easy to eat I could have eaten hundreds. However, while they were enjoyable and delicious and I couldn’t fault them, I didn’t think they were much different from Adriano Zumbo’s macarons or any other macarons I have tried. The only difference as far as I could tell was that the store looks fancy and they have French staff.

Laduree does make some beautiful macarons and some great flavours. For the full experience I would suggest eating in and ordering a pot of tea to enjoy with your macarons so you can truly indulge and enjoy the experience and the pretty store.

Four Seasons High Tea Party

About The Event

Sunday was the High Tea Party at the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney. The High Tea Party is an all day shopping and pampering event/expo organised by the Four Seasons Hotel and a number of partners including the National Breast Cancer Foundation and Million Dollar Woman. The event ran from 9.00am to 6.00pm on the 27th and 28th of October.

Arrival

We arrived at the hotel around 11.30am and were directed towards the registration tables where we handed over our tickets and received a Price Attack gift bag containing vouchers and samples.

We were given a short spiel about the event and the high tea by a lady near the entrance, and then we were handed some Lindauer champagne to enjoy as we wandered through the expo.

High Tea

At 12.30pm we headed towards the Grand Ballroom for a lovely high tea. We were seated at a table of 4 with some comfortable chairs and plenty of room. It was nice that we had our own table and didn’t need to share with people we didn’t know.

The high tea itself was lovely. We had one tray between the four of us with four of each item on it. I was a little peeved when I saw that the dessert plate was in the middle and the scones were on top (have some order people, order!) but we ate them in the right order anyway!

We started with some sandwiches which included chicken and mayo, salmon on brioche, a strange mint/tabbouli/lettuce wrap, and the best ham and cheese sandwich I’ve had in a while.

 

We were given unlimited tea (which I definitely took advantage of, having about 4 cups!) or coffee and another glass of champagne.

We then moved on to the scones with jam and cream. The scones looked very cute but tasted more like a bread roll than a scone. However they were soft and still tasted nice with the jam and cream.

Finally we tried some of the desserts, although we were all getting full by then. There was an opera cake-style slice, mini cupcakes, and some carrot cake with toasted muesli on top. The desserts were all nice but were quite sweet and we were already very full by then!

 

During the high tea, there was a fashion show put on by Living Silk, which provided some entertainment and something interesting to watch. There were a few giveaways and then the high tea part of the day was over, and we headed out of the ballroom to the other levels of the expo.

 

 

Stalls

MDS and I enjoyed taking photos with the Porsche, getting some eyelash extensions (with a mascara brush), tasting the Galliano, Lindauer and Skinny Girl drinks, and checking out some of the jewellery, clothes and hair and make-up products on show.

 

 

There were some cute pieces of jewellery and some fascinators on display there but I thought the event would be improved with a few more food-related stalls. Also, some of the items, such as the fascinators, were beautiful but were sooo expensive. One fascinator was about $600 and a plain silver bead necklace was for sale at $650.

The room on level 2 where girls could go to get their hair, makeup and nails done was a really good idea and MDS and I thought it would have been perfect if we attended the Saturday session and were going out afterwards!

Overall this was a really fun girl’s day out and I would recommend it for a little bit of pampering and fun.

Yogurberry, Chatswood

Address: Shop 23, 445 Victoria Avenue Chatswood

Tel: (02) 9898 9966

Website: http://yogurberry.com.au/?p=company

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It’s no secret that I love frozen yoghurt (see WowCow, Noggi).

In Chatswood last night I was craving some and my brother, who goes to school in Chatswood, showed me this new and different yoghurt place.

Yogurberry is now one of my fave fro-yo places as it is sold by weight not size/amount of toppings. This means that you get to serve yourself and can choose to add however much frozen yoghurt you want from a variety of flavours (there were 8 flavours available the day I went), and however many toppings you want.

I chose strawberry fro-yo with passionfruit, gummi bears, strawberries, mixed berries, lychee and mochi (rice cakes).

The cups are huge so it doesn’t look like much but there was as much fro-yo as in a regular Noggi serving.

While Noggi sells its various fro-yo sizes at a set price with 3 toppings included, you don’t get to choose how much of each topping you want. Moochi works similarly, but WowCow charges $1 extra per topping.

This is a much better idea as it allows you to create your own fro-yo which is much more fun. Even the staff were friendly and chilled out.

School students in their uniforms get 20% off or if you show them that you have liked their Facebook page, you can get 20% off too! They also have an offer where if your fro-yo is exactly 500 grams (worth $10.00) you get it for free!

Such a fun store and a great spin on the normal frozen yoghurt experience! Definitely recommend trying this!